


Do Me A Favor

by weightedlive



Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: Canon is for LOSERS, Crushes, First Dates, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Relationship Advice, Underage Smoking, fabian is a lovesick disaster and i feel like that should be mentioned more, the boys get their kisses in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:06:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27688693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weightedlive/pseuds/weightedlive
Summary: Riz straightens his posture, though he’s still only up to Gorgug’s chest. “I need your help with an investigation.”Gorgug looks truly surprised now. He fully turns to face Riz, mouth ajar.“Really? Wouldn’t Adaine be more… investigate-y?”Matter-of-factly, almost nonchalant, Riz says “I think Fabian just asked me on a date.”“Oh,” Gorgug says, and visibly relaxes. “That’s great! Why do you need my help?” Gorgug asks as he raises an eyebrow.Riz sighs, allows himself a moment of vulnerability. “You’ve been on dates before. I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.” His voice gets small. “Please help.”---Fabian and Riz enlist the help of Fig and Gorgug, respectively, in order to prepare for a date at the end of the week.
Relationships: Ayda Aguefort/Figueroth Faeth, Kristen Applebees/Tracker O'Shaughnessey, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Riz Gukgak/Fabian Aramais Seacaster, The Bad Kids & The Bad Kids (Dimension 20), Zelda Donovan/Gorgug Thistlespring
Comments: 7
Kudos: 109





	Do Me A Favor

**Author's Note:**

> i quite literally had a dream about this plot and decided to turn it into a oneshot! this is by far the fluffliest thing I've ever written, and it's not even that fluffy tbh. goes to show u how good I am at writing it. nevertheless, i hope you enjoy :)

Riz’s heart starts to pound in his chest the moment Fabian turns and walks down the hallway. He knows it’s silly, he’s probably freaking out over nothing at all. This is just a thing best friends do, they hang out together after school. No biggie.

Riz’s body isn’t acting as logically as his mind, unfortunately. Fabian has a strange effect on him that he still had yet to determine the cause of. He made a list in his mind (as well as on his secret conspiracy board that he kept hidden in his office) of the symptoms this strange feeling elicits in him.

  1. Sweaty palms (whenever Fabian leans against the lockers to talk to him)
  2. Increased heart rate (when Fabian smiles and/or laughs)
  3. Butterflies in his stomach (unfortunately, he can’t find a more scientific term for this one)



He hasn’t had the time to explore the possible meanings of this beyond his hypothesis of ‘this is how best friends feel about each other,’ but he suspects he knows who would.

Gorgug stands at his locker, headphones over his ears. He gently bops his head to the music Riz can hear blasting as he gets closer.

Riz stands next to him for a few seconds as he waits for Gorgug to notice his presence, but his friend continues to shift through the books in his locker, unaware of Riz standing right next to him.

“Gorgug,” Riz says as he reaches out to tap Gorgug’s shoulder.

Gorgug turns to him, surprised, and pulls the headphones off his head. “Oh, uh, hey Riz. Didn’t see you there. What’s up?”

Riz straightens his posture, though he’s still only up to Gorgug’s chest. “I need your help with an investigation.”

Gorgug looks truly surprised now. He fully turns to face Riz, mouth ajar.

“Really? Wouldn’t Adaine be more… investigate-y?”

Matter-of-factly, almost nonchalant, Riz says “I think Fabian just asked me on a date.”

“Oh,” Gorgug says, and visibly relaxes. “That’s great! Why do you need _my_ help?” Gorgug asks as he raises an eyebrow.

Riz sighs, allows himself a moment of vulnerability. “You’ve been on dates before. I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.” His voice gets small. “Please help.”

Gorgug blinks at him. “Okay, yeah, I can try.”

“Great.” Riz sighs. “What do I do?”

Before Gorgug can answer, the bell rings for the beginning of the class period. Gorgug looks at Riz and points a finger at him.

“Uh, text me after school. We can go to the… mall? And talk there?”

“Okay!” Riz says as he begins to back down the hallway towards his next class. “See you later Gorgug!”

Gorgug waves at him as Riz turns his back. Hopefully, Gorgug will help him to figure out how to make sure he doesn’t make a complete fool of himself this Friday.

* * *

Fabian locks himself in the boy’s locker room moments after he walks away from Riz. He isn’t 100 percent sure that he’s hyperventilating, but he sits down on a bench in order to settle his breathing, just in case.

He just asked Riz on a date. It was an accident, of course, something Adaine would call a Fruitian slip, or whatever the term was. It isn’t that he didn’t want to ask Riz on a dateーbecause he did, like, a lotー he just needed time to prepare for it, and four days was hardly enough time to organize the most extravagant first date that was suitable for Riz Gukgak. 

With one last deep breath, Fabian’s breathing settles. He needs to focus. He’s going to take Riz on a date on Friday, and it’s going to be fucking fantastic.

A ping from his crystal startles Fabian, he realizes it’s a text from Fig.

_Fig the Infaethable: hey dood wnna skip class n smke in the parking lot_

Perfect. Fig is exactly the person who could help him plan a perfect date. She has a cool pirate girlfriend, and Fabian is a cool pirate. It’s simple math.

_Fabian Aramais Seacaster the Pirate: b there in 2 min_

The smell of smoke leads Fabian straight to Fig. She’s leaning against a wall in the courtyard area of the parking lot while she smokes and scrolls through something on her crystal.

“Hey, bardy boy!” Fig exclaims as Fabian approaches. She tosses him a clove and lights it with a cantrip in one smooth motion. Fabian thanks his natural dexterity as he catches the clove with two fingers. 

“Hello, almost-sister.” Fabian says, cooly. Fig smiles as she takes in a drag of her cigarette.

They smoke in silence for a few minutes, which isn’t unusual for their class-skipping smoke sessions. They find it’s sometimes better not to talk when their silence says all they could ever want to say out loud. 

Fabian takes a drag off his clove and does his best to hide his grimace at the taste. He has no idea why Fig likes these stupid cloves so much, but he isn’t one to complain about free cigarettes.

“So,” He says as he exhales a cloud of smoke. Fig turns away from the dancing flames on her fingers to face him. “How’s Ayda?”

Fig’s eyes light up at the mention of her girlfriend. “She’s great! She started working on this project at the Compass Points to start recruiting kids to become wizards. It’s kinda like a homeless shelter thing, she’s really excited about it.”

Fabian can’t help but smile at the way Fig gushes about Ayda. She is so in love with her and it comes across in every word. He wonders to himself if Riz talks about him the same way.

“That sounds awesome, Fig.” Fabian takes another drag off his clove and sighs out another puff of smoke. “I need your help with something.”

Fig narrowed her eyes at him. “No.”

Fabian stands up from the wall and furrows his brow. “No? I haven’t even told you what it is yet.”

“I already know what it is.” She says. “I’m not helping you break up your mom and Gilear.”

Fabian stares at her, flabbergasted. “That…” He starts. “Isn’t even remotely what I was going to ask you.”

“Oh!” Fig’s expression softened. “Then yeah, I’ll help. What do you need? Burning hands an annoying team member? Suggestion a teacher to pass you?”

“No, none of that.” Fabian shakes his head. He takes a deep breath as he closes his eyes. “I asked The BallーRizー on a date. I think. I need help with planning it.”

“You think?” Fig asks. “What did you say to him?”

“Well, uh,” Fabian says. “So, he was talking about how he was working on this case and needed some help with it, so I was all ‘you wanna come to my place Friday to work on it’ and he was like ‘yeah’ so I said ‘okay, it’s a date!’ And then I left and hyperventilated in the locker room.”

Fig blinks at him a few times, slowly, an unreadable expression on her face. Or maybe it is readable, Fabian’s insight isn’t that good.

“Okay.” Fig starts. “You said ‘it’s a date,’ which is a normal expression people use when they make plans. So, therefore, you think _he_ thinks you asked him on a date, and you want that to happen?”

Fabian nods. “Yeah, that’s basically it.”

“Makes sense to me.” Fig shrugs. “Wanna go to the mall to get him some presents so he knows you like him?”

Fabian smiles. This is exactly why he asked Fig for help.

“Absolutely.” He says.

Fig drops her clove to the ground and stamps it out under her boot, then meets his eyes. “Let’s go then, I’ve missed talking to the Hangman.”

* * *

The last time Riz was at the Elm Valley Mall he was kidnapped by servants of the Nightmare King, so getting pretzels with Gorgug is a nice change of pace.

They’re sitting in the food court and watching the people pass by; couples holding hands, groups of friends joking around, and tired parents attempting to wrangle their children into their strollers.

“So,” Gorgug says through a mouthful of his pretzel. “You’re going on a date with Fabian on Friday. You wanna do that, right?”

Riz swallows the last of his pretzel. “Uh, yeah, I mean. Fabian’s cool, he’s awesome. He’s my best friend, and I really like him. So going on a date is like, totally cool.”

Gorgug stares at him for a little longer than Riz finds comfortable. He can almost see him picking apart Riz’s expression.

“But, do you _like_ like him?” Gorgug asks. Riz furrows his brow.

“Uh, yeah? Didn’t I just say that?” He says.

Gorgug puts down his pretzel and folds his hands together in front of his mouth. “Riz,” he says, deadly serious. “You know Fabian has a massive crush on you, right?”

Riz thinks his brain short-circuits for a moment. When he comes back online, he stares at Gorgug slack-jawed.

“Oh, so… _oh_.” He says intelligently. Gorgug smiles at him fondly, and for the first time, Riz knows Gorgug is undeniably the smartest person in their party.

“Yeah. He talks about you all the time. He’s always asking me and Ragh stuff like ‘do you think The Ball will like this thing I did with my hair?’ He’s really into you, dude.” Gorgug says.

Riz’s mind is going through thoughts at about a million miles an hour. Is this what he’s been feeling, a crush? Is that how Fabian feels about him too? Has he always felt this way about him or did it start more recently? There was only one way to find out.

“How do you know you have a crush?” Riz asks. Gorgug looks confused for a moment, and Riz clarifies. “I don’t think I’ve ever had one before, so, are the things I’m feeling normal? I get, uh, sweaty? And my face feels really hot when we hang out, andー”

Gorgug puts up a hand to stop him. “I can’t tell you how you feel Riz. I think you just have to ask yourself if you want to do, like, romantic things with Fabian. And if you do, that’s great, because he doesn’t shut up about it.” Gorgug laughs. “If you don’t, we can figure out how to break it to him gently.”

Riz breathes out and nods his head. “Okay, yeah. I’ll think about that.” He pauses for a moment, suddenly shy about having such a personal conversation in the middle of the mall food court.

“Did you feel that stuff I mentioned when you met Zelda?” Riz asks. Gorgug nods.

“Yeah, I mean I thought she was really cool when we first met, and then when we started hanging out more I started feeling like maybe I wanted to be more than friends with her, and it kinda just went from there. My parents were really helpful about it, they’ve always been really open about feelings and stuff, so I guess that helped.”

Riz bites his lip. “Cool, cool.” His eyes drift away from Gorgug as he zones out, thinking about Fabian.

He thinks about the way Fabian has changed since the Nightmare Forest, how he’s more open and less arrogant. He tells his friends he believes in them, that he cares about them, and isn’t afraid to admit it. He’s cool, and suave, and strong. He listens to Riz when he rants about his latest case, even when he definitely doesn’t understand everything Riz says. He makes Riz laugh, and when he smiles Riz feels like he could look at him all day. 

Gods, now that he thinks about it, Fabian is really attractive. It was always a passive observation, like where the exits in a room are or the amount of people that he passes on the street. But now, as he truly contemplates everything about Fabian, he’s surprised he hasn’t realized sooner. He thinks about the sharp line of his jaw, the way his eyes crinkle when he laughs or smiles, how he stands like an ancient statue without a care in the world, a model without even realizing it.

“I think I like Fabian.” Riz says, still spaced out. He turns his attention back to Gorgug, who’s smiling at him like a proud parent. Riz opens his mouth to say something, but his eyes catch a pair of horns and an eyepatch walking up to the pretzel shop across the court.

Riz hides under the table in a moment of panic, and Gorgug pokes his head down to look at him, clearly uncomfortable.

“What are you doing?” Gorgug asks.

“Fabian and Fig are over there.” Riz points, ignoring how gross the floor of the mall probably is.

Gorgug turns to look in the direction Riz pointed and then leans back under the table. “Okay, let’s go upstairs. I don’t think they know we’re here.”

* * *

Right as they reach the pretzel stand, Fabian notices Gorgug sitting at a table suspiciously alone.

At first, he doesn’t question it. Maybe he’s here with Zelda and she went to use the bathroom or something. But then Gorgug leans under the table and stands up, followed by someone much smaller than Zelda.

“Shit.” He says. Fig looks at him with an arched brow.

“What’s wrong, do you not want pretzels?” She asks. Fabian shakes his head as he tries to slow his racing thoughts. 

“No, Gorgug is here with The Ball, I just saw them walk out.”

“Oh yeah,” Fig shrugs. “He texted me earlier that he was coming, I thought he was going with Zelda though.”

“What the fuck.” Fabian says to no one in particular. Fig sighs and drags him to an unoccupied corner next to the pretzel stand.

“Get it together.” She says, pointing a finger at his chest. “You’re Fabian. Aramais. Seacaster. Don’t overthink it and focus on Riz, and how you’re gonna give him the most baller date of all time on Friday.”

“Okay,” Fabian says. “Yeah, it will be baller. Do you think I should get confetti? Or is that too much?”

Fig contemplates the question for a moment and purses her lips. “I think Riz is a pretty simple guy, so a little goes a long way. Confetti? Maybe too much. Flowers? Perfect.”

“Gods, you’re so good at this.” Fabian exhales. “Ayda is a very lucky woman.”

“Damn right she is.” Fig smiles. “Now let’s get some pretzels and figure out what the hell you’re gonna wear.”

* * *

The week goes by faster than any other in Riz’s life. Suddenly it’s Friday morning and he’s trying to resist the urge to button up the shirt he’s wearing over his Fig and the Sig Figs tee that Gorgug insisted he wear.

This morning his mom had fussed over him more than ever after he told her the previous night that he’s going on a date with Fabian after school. It was very sweet, but Riz feels a little out of his element with gel in his hair and glasses that aren’t covered in scratches.

Fabian is noticeably absent from Aguefort all day, even when Riz makes some pretty good investigation checks. His seat at the Bad Kids lunch table is vacant, and Riz can’t help but worry that he might have bailed on him last minute. 

That worry is pushed to the side when the final bell rings and he slips out the doors to the parking lot, where Fabian is waiting against the Hangman with a small bouquet of flowers. He looks especially well-dressed, in a navy button-up tucked into a pair of clearly designer black jeans. He quickly spots Riz and waves to him with a brilliantly white smile that makes Riz’s heart flutter.

Riz takes a deep breath and approaches him, gripping the handle of his briefcase like a stress ball.

“You look lovely, The Ball.” Fabian smiles. Riz feels his face grow warm but manages a response.

“Thanks. You look… incredible.”

Fabian extends a hand out to Riz. “Care to go for a ride?” Riz nods and takes Fabian’s hand as he slides onto the seat of the Hangman. The infernal engine roars to life as Riz wraps his arms around Fabian’s waist and presses himself up against his back. He hopes Fabian can’t feel how hard his heart is pounding against his ribs.

When they arrive at Seacaster Manor, Riz plays it cool as Fabian takes his hand and leads him to the door. He’s been to the manor many times since becoming friends with Fabian, but this time feels different somehow.

It’s also visibly different this time, Riz notices as they enter the foyer. It’s dimly lit with candles that lead to the living room, where Riz can see the coffee table piled high with pizza boxes and even more flowers than the one bouquet Fabian had presented him with at school.

“It’s a little less extravagant than I initially planned,” Fabian says, leading Riz to the living room. “But I figured it would be more charming this way.”

A jazz record plays quietly from a corner of the room, the smell of incredible pizza fills his nose, and Riz thinks he might actually melt into the floor before he can sit on the couch.

“Fabian, this is…” He trails off as Fabian beams down at him.

“It’s not too much, I hope? I think you simply deserve the best.” He says.

Riz stares up at Fabian for a moment in awe, then tackles him to the couch in a hug.

Fabian laughs as he hugs Riz back tightly. Riz breathes in the scent of Fabian’s cologne and hair gel and _him_ and he doesn’t ever want to let go.

When Fabian realizes that Riz isn’t letting go anytime soon, he chuckles and gently pushes him beside him on the couch.

“I love how affectionate you’re being, but I didn’t get these pizzas for them to get cold.” He laughs, and Riz blushes all the way to the tips of his ears.

They dig into the pizza, talking about school and Riz’s most recent case. As Riz begins to open his briefcase to pull out his case files, Fabian places a gentle hand on his that stops Riz in his tracks.

“Before you start spiraling, I wanted to give you this.” Fabian reaches underneath a pillow and pulls out a small box with a fancy jewelry store logo on top.

“Fabian, you didn’t have to… you already did so much.” Riz says, but takes the box anyway. 

“As I said, you deserve the best.” Fabian says. Riz opens the box, which holds two small, silver magnifying glass cufflinks resting on white satin.

“Fabian…” He says, staring at the cufflinks. Fabian did all this for him. For Riz Gukgak.

“Do you like them? I thought they would be nice since you wear suitsー”

Riz wraps his arms around Fabian’s neck in another hug, burying his face in Fabian’s shoulder to cover the pinpricks of tears forming in his eyes.

* * *

Fabian thinks he might vibrate out of his skin when Riz hugs him again. He had been satisfied just holding his hand, but this much contact was enough to make him leap into the Astral Plane without the Plane Shift spell.

He’s covered up his anxiety well with his confident bravado, but soon he was either going to explode or pass out from the amount of emotion he was feeling. Fabian slowly hugs Riz back and tries to play it as cool as he possibly can while his heart is pounding out of his chest. He can’t imagine this having gone any better, save for Riz making out with him on the Hangman, and _oh gods_ , the thought of kissing Riz is almost too much to bear.

Fabian thinks he hears Riz mumble something into his shoulder, but it’s completely inaudible.

“What’s up, The Ball?” Fabian asks, hoping that exaggerating the question is enough to cover up how close he is to completely losing his shit.

Riz pulls himself up from Fabian’s shoulder but keeps his hands wrapped around his neck. Their faces are less than a foot apart, and Fabian thinks his heart has fully stopped in his chest.

“Thank you.” Riz says, with the widest smile Fabian thinks he’s ever seen on him. “For all of this. For being you.”

Fabian’s confident facade completely melts away at that, and he sucks in a shuddering breath. “Oh. Um, you’re welcome.” He must look completely ridiculous right now, staring at Riz with his mouth hanging open. He hopes he doesn’t catch flies.

He is also increasingly aware of their position on the couch right now. Riz is on top of him, straddling his lap and basically pinning him against the cushions. 

Fabian thinks he’s about to blackout.

Riz’s voice keeps him from completely losing consciousness. “Fabian?”

“Yeah?” He manages, voice shaking. He can see Riz’s eyes scanning his face, investigating his every thought. _Gods, he’s so brilliant,_ Fabian thinks to himself.

“What do you want?” Riz says, but before Fabian can reply he continues.

“I mean, what do you want from this? Do you want to do more dates? Do you want…” Riz’s eyes quickly glance down at Fabian’s lips, and that’s it. Fabian is dead. He’s alive and dead at the same time, in purgatory, whatever the hell it is.

“Do you want us to be a thing?” Riz whispers, leaning close enough so that undead Fabian can feel the warmth of his breath. In his deceased state, he doesn’t know if he can manage a reply without fully going unconscious. He imagines Riz pulling out his first aid kit to try and revive him, and that helps ground him as he trembles out a response.

“More than anything.”

Riz smiles, and Fabian sees the shimmer of tears in his eyes. Gods, is Riz crying? Did he do something wrong?

“Should I…” Riz says before Fabian can ask if he’s okay. His eyes drift down again, lingering on Fabian’s mouth. They’re barely an inch apart now, and Fabian is completely at the mercy of Riz. The only thought running through his head right now is _if you don’t kiss me right now, I’m actually going to die_.

“Riz,” Fabian whispers as he locks eyes with Riz. His face is so hot that he’s surprised Riz isn’t burning from it. “Please just kiss me already.”

Riz raises his eyebrows but does as Fabian says and kisses him.

There aren’t fireworks, there’s no swell of romantic music to emphasize the moment. Honestly, it’s awkward and unsure, Riz’s lips barely brush Fabian’s before he pulls away to look at him.

“I don’t know what I’m doing.” He admits, and laughs, throwing his head back and fully laughing at himself. Fabian laughs too, and he feels his shoulders relax for the first time since stepping inside the manor.

“It’s okay,” Fabian says. Riz looks at him with so much feeling it sends a shiver down his spine. “I don’t either.”

“Can I try again?” Riz whispers, already leaning in. Fabian doesn’t even answer, just closes the distance between them. They kiss again. And again. And again. And again again again again again again again.

It’s clumsy at first and takes a few tries to get it right, but when they do, it turns into a sweet rhythm that feels as natural as breathing. Fabian thinks to himself that if he died right here, he wouldn’t mind all that much.

Fabian is now positioned on top of Riz, one hand tangled in his hair and the other holding his waist. Riz’s arms are still wrapped around his neck, but his glasses are askew and his face is a pretty shade of turquoise that must be a blush.

Fabian pulls away to rest his forehead against Riz’s, their breaths rising and falling in time with each other. He closes his eyes and lets himself listen to the sound of Riz breathing, feeling his warmth. He could stay like this forever.

“You’re so fucking incredible, Riz.” Fabian whispers, opening his eyes and looking at Riz’s face and taking it all in. He kisses him once, gently, lingering.

“I love you.” He whispers against Riz’s lips.

Moments later, he realizes what he said and pulls away. “Shit, sorry, that was really fast, Iー”

Riz suddenly grabs the collar of his shirt, pulls him back down with a strength Fabian didn’t think he had, and kisses him, hard, until Fabian’s stomach is doing somersaults and he nearly forgets his own name.

Riz finally pulls away from Fabian, still holding onto his collar. Fabian makes a mental note that he very much likes when Riz pushes him around.

“If this is what being loved feels like,” Riz says, a small smile on his face. “I don’t care if it’s too fast.” Fabian feels his bones become liquid as he melts into Riz and rests his head on his shoulder. 

“I love you too, by the way.” Riz whispers into his ear. Fabian makes a strangled noise and pushes himself up to pepper Riz’s face with kisses and whispered ‘I love you’s until they don’t even sound like words anymore.

* * *

Hours later, Riz is resting in Fabian’s arms as they watch an old detective movie on the massive crystal TV. He can feel the warmth of Fabian’s chest against his back like a furnace and sighs happily.

“You alright, baby?” Fabian asks. Riz can’t help but smile at the pet name. He could really get used to that.

“I’m good.” He says and pecks Fabian on the cheek. He turns his attention back to the TV but can’t help but notice the elephant in the room that’s getting hard to ignore.

“Hey,” He says, looking up at Fabian. “We’re dating now, right? Like, this is a thing?”

Fabian blinks at him slowly as he processes the question. He laughs quietly and kisses Riz’s temple, squeezing him closer to whisper in his ear.

“We just made out for like two hours, so I fucking hope so.”

Riz laughs now and sighs. “You’re right,” He says. “It would be nice to hear you say it, though.”

Fabian takes that as a challenge and pulls Riz onto his lap, so Riz is facing him and Fabian’s holding his face in his hands.

“You, Riz Gukgak, are my incredible, handsome, brilliant, fucking amazing boyfriend. Better?” He kisses him for good measure, and Riz doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to stop smiling.

“Much better.” He says. “And you, Fabian _Aramais_ Seacaster, are my very cool, suave, handsome pirate captain boyfriend.”

“Hm, I like when you say my full name. You should keep doing that.” Fabian says with a quick kiss.

“Maybe when I’m feeling nice.” Riz smiles. He notices the numbers glowing from the clock and the fact that most of the candles that were lighting the room have long burnt out.

“Gods, it’s _nine-thirty_?” He says with a laugh. Fabian turns to look at the clock and raises his eyebrows.

“It seems it is.” He turns back to Riz. “It may have been an underestimation to say two hours.”

Riz pushes him away gently and shakes his head. “I should go home. I told my mom I would be back by eight, let’s hope she hasn’t organized a search party already.”

“If you insist.” Fabian sighs dramatically. “I will do the honor of returning you to the Strongtower Luxury Apartments, my love.”

“Thanks, you’re a regular prince charming.” Riz says as he begins to gather his things.

Despite the fact that Riz was hours late returning home, he and Fabian spend at least ten minutes kissing each other goodbye outside his building until Riz finally pulls himself away. He walks up the stairs as the sound of the Hangman fades into the distance, a massive smile on his face.

He tries to open his apartment door as quietly as possible, even though he knows his mom will definitely be up. Sure enough, as he steps into the doorway and slips off his shoes, he sees his mom at the kitchen counter pouring over a law textbook, her hair tied up and away from her face.

She looks up at him and instantly breaks into a smug smile as she scans him up and down. Riz catches a quick glance of himself in the mirror hanging by the door, and _oh boy_. He hadn’t realized how disheveled he looked. His hair is a complete mess, his clothes are beyond unwrinkling, and his cheeks are flushed blue. It’s as if someone pinned a sign to his forehead that said ‘I just made out with somebody for six hours.’

“So,” His mom says, smiling. “Can I assume it went well?”

* * *

Fabian pulls into the driveway of Mordred Manor Saturday afternoon with Riz’s arms wrapped around his waist. Aguefort won this morning’s bloodrush game and per tradition, the Bad Kids are gathering at Mordred Manor to celebrate.

Fabian takes Riz’s hand as they walk up to the door with no need to knock. Adaine, Kristen, Tracker, Fig, and Ayda are sitting on the couches in the living room, Zelda and Gorgug only moments behind Fabian and Riz. Tracker is the first one to spot their intertwined hands and smiles.

“Aw, congrats guys!” Her congratulation brings the attention of the others to Fabian and Riz with a mix of confusion and unbridled joy.

“Hell yeah! Told you it would work, Seacaster!” Fig exclaims and launches herself up from the couch to high-five Fabian and ruffle Riz’s hair.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Adaine asks, eyes darting between Riz and Fabian’s faces and their hands. “Are you two dating?”

“Indeed we are, madame oracle.” Fabian says proudly. He gives Riz’s hand a small squeeze and beams at his friends.

“Well, I guess there’s two more to add to the gay Bad Kids groupchat.” Kristen says.

“Babe, that’s just the regular groupchat.” Tracker says and kisses Kristen on the cheek.

Fabian turns at the sound of the door closing as Gorgug and Zelda enter the living room. Gorgug instantly notices Riz’s hand in Fabian’s and smiles at them. “Good, I’m glad it worked out. I got worried after neither of you texted me last night.”

Fabian slings an arm around Gorgug’s shoulder and gives him a quick hug. Zelda gives them a thumbs-up and Fabian can see about half a dozen emotions cross Adaine’s face.

“How am I the only one who didn’t know about this?” She asks, exasperated.

“Weren’t you studying for fantasy SATs this week?” Riz chimes in. Adaine stares at him, mouth hanging open.

“Goddamn,” She finally says. “I was really out of it, wasn’t I?”

Fabian laughs as he settles onto a chair with Riz by his side. As the group returns to their usual chaotic conversations, Fabian meets Fig’s eyes and mouths “thank you.”


End file.
